Is a wave of consolidation about to begin in the Big Data market? Take a sneak peak of #BigDataSV 2015, where Wikibon analysts, SiliconANGLE journalists and a number of top guests will debate the future of the Big Data market.

With NeuroSky Mind Control Could be the Future of Gaming

Cost-effective chips that can amplify and record brain signals have apparently been a thing for a while now, but the technology only started gaining steam recently after a few venturous startups that took it upon themselves to popularize silicon-powered telekinesis.

One of these companies is NeuroSky, a San Jose-based maker of commercial brainwave handsets that can plug into any computer or custom-built gadget. Our very own Kyt Dotson examined the hardware last May, and made a few observations.

Kyt explains that because NeuroSky’s headset is completely non-intrusive, it can only register electromagnetic activity from the surface on the brain. These superficial sentiment read outs hardly constitute mind reading, but he says that can be put to good use in certain areas–such as video game industry.

An upcoming title called “Throw Trucks with Your Mind” is putting NeuroSky’s technology to the test. The game reads both alpha and beta waves to determine whether the player is calm or concentrated enough to pick up, levitate or even throw an object in the game world.

The project is nowhere near completion, but already blows the competition out of the water.

I’ve test driven a few sluggish, dull games using biometric inputs, and they don’t even compare, VentureBeat’s Rus McLaughlin writes. “[Lat] Ware’s game moves and responds to my level of expectation. And it’ a pure, giddy thrill when you launch something across the arena just by thinking about it. If that emptied Throw Trucks’ box of tricks, I’d still be fairly amused by it. But Ware’s building a much deeper experience that casual and core gamers can dig into … assuming Throw Trucks reaches its Kickstarter goal and actually gets made.”

So far users have pledged $20,000 to the project – half the minimum amount that Ware needs to raise in order to turn his engine into a full-fledged game.

About Maria Deutscher

Maria Deutscher is a staff writer for SiliconANGLE covering all things enterprise and fresh. Her work takes her from the bowels of the corporate network up to the great free ranges of the open-source ecosystem and back on a daily basis, with the occasional pit stop in the world of end-users. She is especially passionate about cloud computing and data analytics, although she also has a soft spot for stories that diverge from the beaten track to provide a more unique perspective on the complexities of the industry.